Thursday, June 4, 2009

The ability to heal is born into every druid. Our deep connection with nature allows us to summon those powers of growth and mending, marshaling these forces within ourselves and applying them to our allies to mend their wounds. No matter the path a druid chooses to walk, the ability to heal remains with us.

If our allies’ will to live is strong enough [Do you wish to accept? Yes / No ], we may even summon them back from the dead. This ability is not unique in Azeroth: the divine powers of the priests and paladins mimic this call, and shaman are also capable of bringing others back to life with the power of nature. Such resurrections require intense concentration and no immediate threat to either the unconscious or to the caster themselves. The Cenarion Circle's teachings, however, hold a secret to imbue life into our fallen comrades without such limitations!

Young druids are taught this art through the focus of a seed. Through the seed’s own rapid growth urged on by our connection to nature, we can link such rapid awakening to our fallen ally, helping them quickly burst back to life through the shell of their mending flesh. Just as a sapling will still strive to grow through burying leaf litter, late frosts, parasites, and the looming shadows, so to will our ally strive to rise up in the face of adversity! [combat flag ;)]

In time, a druid can learn to eschew having a real seed present, eliminating the need to carry such things in order to so quickly and efficiently resuscitate a friend. The druid knows the growth of the seed, can feel within themselves the sapling’s strength and will to grow, and can imbue these feelings into their work without having the seed physically present.

Regardless of having such a reagent present or not, this power’s benefits come at a price of time. The focus required to so quickly connect the idea of a growing seed to a near-death friend is draining upon a druid, and such a focus of lifeline energy requires at least some time to recharge. This recharge time, sometimes referred to as a Cooldown, seems to be universal across druids, and limits how often we can marshal such a power to circumvent the standard limitations of resurrection.

Druids are capable of the standard resurrection ability used by the aforementioned shaman, priests, and paladins, in tandem to our seed-driven resuscitation. There is no recharge time on this more standard power, as while it does still require focus, it is only ever done in a calm, uninterrupted setting where there is plenty of time to marshal the forces of nature required to grant the fallen friend a chance to wake up from their dieing sleep.

While all such powers are commonly referred to as resurrections or “resses,” when making a distinction between the two druidic powers of resurrection, the standard power is referred to as a “Revival,” and the seed-sped resurrection is called a “Rebirth.” In the course of training, a druid will first learn to master the simpler Revive. Once this has been accomplished, the teachers will move on to the way of the seed when they feel their charge is ready. Learning to use the Rebirth power without a seed present is an ability a druid will then learn on their own, at their own pace [Glyph it!].Winds guide you, druid.